Good start for Bansley and Maloney at FIVB World Tour tournament

PHUKET, Thailand – Heather Bansley and Liz Maloney of Toronto split their opening two matches on Wednesday to remain in contention at a stop on the FIVB beach volleyball World Tour circuit.

Bansley and Maloney, seeded 18th, defeated 15th seeds Satoko Urata and Takemi Nishibori of Japan 21-17, 21-12 in 34 minutes. In the second round they lost to second seeds Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, the 2009 world champions, 21-10, 21-14.

The Canadian pair must now proceed through the loser bracket and could potentially play as many as three matches on Friday.

Christian Redmann among 37 athletes to join RBC Olympians program

TORONTO - RBC today announced the names of 37 exceptional Canadian athletes, which includes beach volleyball star Christian Redmann of Toronto, who will join the 2011/2012 RBC Olympians Program.

The RBC Olympians Program, which began in 2002, is a national initiative providing elite athletes an opportunity to gain career-oriented experience alongside a flexible work schedule, which gives them the time necessary to train and compete. The career skills and experiences gained from working at RBC will benefit these athletes at different stages of their careers.